Required fields are marked *. 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Louisville OT Mekhi Becton, Fantasy running back sleepers for the 2020 season, Why you need to target Jonnu Smith in 2020 fantasy drafts. His first-hand familiarity with the NFL gives him an interesting perspective in the world of fantasy football. After a tough 2019 season, what is Le'Veon Bell's fantasy outlook in 2020? Discounting 2015 when he only played six games (and still scored 3 touchdowns to tie last year), Bell had the worst season of his career. Even in the passing game, he had the third-worst returns of his six-year career, managing just 461 yards and a single receiving touchdown. It doesn’t matter how patient Bell is as a runner, you can’t wait for a hole if one isn’t going to open up. Having effective weapons in the passing game opens up more opportunities in the run game. The Fantasy Footballers reveal an interesting stat on Bell’s first season with the Jets, citing it’s not likely he will bounce back this fall. In 2019 with the Jets, Gase had no choice but to use Le’Veon Bell considering there weren’t any other viable options at the position. Plus, with another talented RB with a separate identity to his run, Gore can help keep Bell from getting gassed in the 4th quarter. If you can draft him at a reasonable price or trade for him without giving away too much capital, he is more suited as a solid RB2 more so than an RB1 this year in fantasy. Bell used to play on a fast-paced, high flying offense that had elite talent at the QB and WR positions. His inability to reach the end zone and abysmal 3.2 yards per carry answered those questions loud and clear. Related | 2020 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Louisville OT Mekhi Becton. Note: Bell was the subject of the Footballer’s latest Buy or Sell segment on the Fantasy Footballers podcast. It’s necessary to look at the offense as a whole from surrounding weapons, to the offensive line, to coaching. After participating in several mock drafts, I keep seeing his name staring at me in 4th Round or later. We'll never share your email address and you can opt out at any time, we promise. It will always be hard to ignore the struggle that was 2019 for Bell and his fantasy managers. That was not the case, as he faced eight or more men in the box on just 17.14% of his carries, which placed him in the middle of the pack. Related | Why you need to target Jonnu Smith in 2020 fantasy drafts. His excellent ability as a receiver saved his fantasy production. Pro Football Network’s Offensive Share Metric did not view Bell’s 2019 season favorably in the slightest. He had a disappointing 2019 season so he is predictably falling down draft boards, yet every time I see Bell’s name, I hesitate. One disagreement between Adam Gase and Mike Maccagnan/Christopher Johnson... Gase absolutely did not want to sign Le’Veon Bell, per sources. He'll be given every opportunity to succeed. That whole situation for the 2019 Jets was just bad. This offseason, however, Gase wasted little time adding the veteran “ageless one”, Frank Gore, to the roster. Bell’s poor performance in 2019 is highlighted vividly by his Fantasy Point Differential (FPD). He was compared to cold mashed potatoes and to vegetables. Bell is capable of producing at a high level. The offensive line was so bad that G.M. On one hand, Bell is a two-time All-Pro RB (2014, 17), and produced several outstanding fantasy seasons over his productive career. That can only be a good thing for Bell’s fantasy outlook in 2020? No offense to Robby Anderson or Jamison Crowder, but Antonio Brown and Juju Smith-Shuster they are not. If we look back over the last five seasons, only 10 players have logged a worse FPD than Bell did in 2019. Despite the ineffectiveness, Bell finished as the RB16 in PPR last season, maintaining the notion that Bell remains a more than capable ball carrier in the NFL. Despite ranking eighth in the league with a healthy 311 touches, Bell finished just 16th among running backs in fantasy scoring. However, Bell’s 2019 season failed to reach the level of play he produced as a member of the Steelers. As the 2020 fantasy football season nears, it's time to examine players who could make or break your fantasy team. One of those changes was the addition of run blocker extraordinaire in college, Mekhi Becton, who will man right tackle. How has Bell performed in Fantasy Point Differential? Josh resides in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2019, Bell was a top-24 back 71% of the time, which placed him in the top 10 in that category. Second, it would appear throughout the season that Bell was not being utilized correctly, becoming a product of Gase’s system. Bell faced an uphill battle from Week 1 and he continued the struggle all season. Go and find any site that places a value on the performance of offensive lines when it came to run blocking and you will find the Jets in the bottom five, if not the bottom two. I don’t blame anyone for wanting to stay away and keep Bell on their “do not draft” list. However, actions speak louder than words. I will wholeheartedly agree that it’s difficult to trust anything that Gase says. After participating in several mock drafts, I keep seeing his name staring at me in 4th Round or later. Another interesting fact about the Jets is all of the vacated rush attempts and passing targets. Could he prove to be a steal at the lowest ADP of his career? And he continued to hold out. For many people I spoke to, he skipped right over the food analogy and landed squarely on the “do not draft” list. Currently, Bell’s ADP on Fleaflicker sits as the 35th player off the board, 18th running back, in PPR. 2020 Season Prediction: Can T.J. Watt improve on 2019? The Jets also signed Greg Van Roten, Connor McGovern, George Fant, and Alex Lewis, guard to bolster their O-Line. On one hand, Bell is a two-time All-Pro RB (2014, 17), and produced several outstanding fantasy seasons over his productive career. In 2014, he finished with the second-highest total fantasy points and points per game, second in rushing yards, and second in targets and receptions among RBs. Given that he was pretty widely taken as a top 20 selection, if not top 10 during drafts, this was an extremely disappointing return on investment. What does OSM tell us about Bell in 2019? One reason for this nickname is due to Gase’s unwillingness to properly utilize pass-catching backs, most notably Kenyan Drake, during his time in Miami. It was the square peg in a round hole analogy. With the hope that we see an improvement in the offensive line in 2020, we should see somewhat of a bounce-back for Bell in 2020. It’s highly likely Bell sees a share of that passing volume to incorporate in his run game. Categorizing Le’Veon Bell’s football career is polarizing. This will free up Bell to play more of role in the passing game, in space, and with better protection. When Bell’s lines were ranked in the top 10, he finished with a higher FPD score than when the line was ranked lower. Bell has never excelled when it comes to Fantasy Point Differential. Follow @Model.ButterBlogPost.Author.TwitterHandle, Jimmy Garoppolo Throws Two Picks And Gets Benched, Dak Prescott To Undergo Ankle Surgery Sunday Night, Tyler Glasnow To Face Yanks In Decisive Game 5, Gerrit Cole Gets Nod For Game 5 Showdown Against Rays, Alex Bregman Caps Off Strong ALDS With Two Hits, Michael Brantley's Two Home Runs Key Astros Win, LeBron James, Danny Green Probable For Sunday, Kevon Looney Expected To Have Bigger Role, DraftKings NFL Picks Week 5: Chalk, Pivots, and Punts, 20 Interesting Advanced NFL Fantasy Metric Stats For Week 5, Seventh highest Opportunity Share (76.8%), Seventh in targets and receptions (78 and 66). It will always be hard to ignore the struggle that was 2019 for Bell and his fantasy managers. However, he has also not performed terribly either, with his lowest before 2019 being -10%. I think his ADP is a bit too high for the production he will provide as a member of the Jets. The Jets struggled to run the ball as a unit, finishing 2019 with the second-lowest rushing yards per game among NFL teams (78.6), tied-last in yards per attempt (3.3), and second to last in total team rushing yards (1,257). Additionally, Bell finished as an RB1 43% of the time, again finishing in the top 10. Raheem Mostert Fantasy Injury Update: Should I be concerned in Week 5? However, if my lineup is full of studs and I am staring at Bell anytime after the 4th or 5th Round, I would personally take a shot on his upside. Despite all of this, Bell still has the opportunity to climb up the RB2 ladder with potential RB1 upside depending on the matchup. Interestingly, if you were to compare Bell’s FPD scores to the run-blocking ranking of his offensive line that season, a pattern emerges. Playing against Roethlisberger, Bell, and Antonio Brown was a nightmare for defenses. Shortened training camps and fewer reps can lead to a lack of unity which is critical to a functional and effective O-Line and therefore, a successful offense. Our website may not look quite right in it. With COVID-19 wreaking havoc on our day-to-day lives, it hasn’t skipped over professional sports, as we all know. Sure this season will present some frustration with Frank Gore culturing short-yardage carries and touchdowns. Given he was in the low-end RB2 category to finish last season and Gase added his favorite veteran RB, this draft position should continue to plummet. His professional background stems from the fast-paced world of sports media, with experience working for NFL Films and Thursday Night Football. However, success in fantasy is all about shaking off the pain and knowing when to capitalize on value. After signing a big-money deal with the Jets in the 2019 offseason, there were high expectations for Bell. Now your instinct might be that Bell’s struggles are due to facing stacked boxes? However, Le'Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers were unable to come to a middle ground regarding Bell’s contract, and Bell held out to begin the 2018 season. Last season Bell logged the lowest FPD of his career at -25%. How did Bell’s numbers for 2019 stack up? He posted a career-low in rush yards per game (52.6) and yards per attempt (3.2). Bell’s ADP in the third round allows fantasy managers to take a shot on upside in the first or second round, knowing they can fall back on someone who should be a reliable contributor in the third round.